Week 1: January 5-7
Saw the movie Loving, a movie about Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple living in Virginia in 1958 whose Supreme Court case decision (Loving V. Virginia) overruled all laws prohibiting interracial marriage in the US. I found the movie to be very touching and thought-provoking (and reminiscent of Wedding Band) and very representative the types of issues of diversity that we'll be discussing in class.
Week 2: January 8-14
Went through some old papers from last semester and found one that I wrote about the history of race relations in the US. It was interesting to reflect on what the history of race relations have been in the US and how they have or haven't changed in the the time between.
Week 3: January 15-21
Found and read this new article about the Women's March in Chicago that I found very interesting. I felt good seeing a diverse group of women of all ethnicities, races, and beliefs all coming together for the rights of women everywhere. Race And Feminism: Women's March Recalls The Touchy History
Week 4: January 22-28
Saw a short clip from this video on Facebook and was so intrigued that I looked up the full video. It is a workshop/experiment in which Professor Jane Elliot teaches about the negativity of racism by showing white college students what it feels like for minorities to be discriminated against. I thought it was very interesting and eye opening and feel like everyone should watch it. Racism - Jane Elliot's fire with fire
Week 5: January 29- February 4
Read Triangle: the Fire that Changed America; the book discusses America during the fourth wave of immigration to the US and illustrates how life was in America for various racial groups immigrating to America, detailing their hardships. I found it interesting to compare how certain racial groups were treated then and compare it to how they are treated now.
(Triangle: the Fire that Changed America by David Von Drehle)
Week 6: February 5-11
Watched the movie Black or White, a movie detailing a custody fight between a young biracial girl's black paternal grandmother (Rowena) and white maternal grandfather (Elliot) after the death of the young girl's maternal grandmother, who had previously been raising her with Elliot (Eloise's mother having passed away during children). The movie explored the idea of race being a factor in the Elliot's wishes to keep custody of his granddaughter (Eloise); Rowena's attorney accuses Elliot of being racist and uses that to try to sway the judge to grant custody of Eloise to Rowena. I enjoyed the story's exploration of racial tension and prejudices that exist today (Elliot's view of Eloise's father as a "street n*", Eloise's struggles with her conflicting racial identities). I think it was an effective way to explore racial issues today.
Week 8: February 19-25
Had a discussion with a friend of mine that did theatre in high school about shows that we have both done. Through our discussion we found out that we had done some the same shows, and even played the same role (twice!). Timidly, she told me that she was surprised that I had also played the roles we had in common (these roles traditionally were played by a Caucasian actress). We then talked about how our high school directors casted plays; I was fortunate to have a quite racially diverse group of "theatre kids" in my schools, and, for the most part, directors who cast roles primarily on talent and/or vocal ability, and who were quite fans of color-blind or traditional casting. She told me that her director, however, was quite the opposite. I reflected upon that, realizing that my high school theatre experience might have been quite different (role-wise) had I had different directors than I did. Having the roles that I did in high school really helped me grow and gain experience as an actor, and without them I might not have the confidence or willingness to learn as I do now. This is something that I still think about and struggle with to this day.
Week 9: February 26- March 4
Building upon last week, I recently was cast in a role that, in my experience, is traditionally played by a Caucasian actress (Veronica's Mom in Heathers: the Musical); the actress playing Veronica in this production is Caucasian. This has happened to me a handful of times, yet it still surprises me a little each time (although, ideally, it really shouldn't). Experiences like these give me hope for prospective roles and also makes me hopeful that more and more people in the theatre community can move past "traditional" casting and be more inclusive of different ethnicities.
Week 10: March 6-10
Spring Break
Week 11: March 13-17:
An acquaintance of mine asked me about my hairstyle a few days ago, as she realized that I had gotten it done over the break (she was confused as to how it had grown so much in a short week; amused, I had to explain to her that it was not all mine). I answered her questions about the process of getting it done, as well as some about my natural hair and how I care for it. She then asked me, timidly, if she could feel or touch it, and laughingly, I told her she could and that I didn't mind. I know some African-American women take offense when others touch their hair or seem fascinated by it or whatever, but most people that have ever asked me about mine have been quite respectful and seemed innocently curious. I think that discussions like this are important in understanding other's cultures.
Week 12: March 20-24
An article I read this week about a movie called Get Out that came out a few weeks ago. I have not yet seen the movie, but I plan to. It seems to explore racial issues of today, and I am eager to see it. ‘Get Out’ Marketing Tapped Into Relationship Between Racism and Horror
Week 14: April 3-7
Spoke on the phone with my high school best friend, Jacqueline, about something that happened to her recently. Jacqueline (or Jackie, as I usually call her) is Korean. She told me about how, as she and her roommate Maddy were walking to lunch after church this past Sunday, some young man on the side of the road called out to them, saying "Hey, wanna hang out with us?" She and Maddy simply didn't respond and kept walking. Then, the young man and the other boys with him started catcalling at them, essentially, and before they got out of earshot, one called out something along the lines of, (please excuse his crude language) "Hey, Chinese girl! In the green dress! I want to f*** you! You're so hot!" While telling me the story, Jackie's annoyance was more focused on the boy's latter comment, but I couldn't help but notice that he assumed that she was Chinese, when in fact, she's Korean. Personally, I'm very cautious about assuming anyone's ethnicity, usually using a broader term (Asian, Latino/Latina) to describe someone until I'm sure of it or ask them, and it surprised me that someone near in age to me still was so insensitive and dismissive about it.
Saw the movie Loving, a movie about Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple living in Virginia in 1958 whose Supreme Court case decision (Loving V. Virginia) overruled all laws prohibiting interracial marriage in the US. I found the movie to be very touching and thought-provoking (and reminiscent of Wedding Band) and very representative the types of issues of diversity that we'll be discussing in class.
Week 2: January 8-14
Went through some old papers from last semester and found one that I wrote about the history of race relations in the US. It was interesting to reflect on what the history of race relations have been in the US and how they have or haven't changed in the the time between.
Week 3: January 15-21
Found and read this new article about the Women's March in Chicago that I found very interesting. I felt good seeing a diverse group of women of all ethnicities, races, and beliefs all coming together for the rights of women everywhere.
Race And Feminism: Women's March Recalls The Touchy History
Week 4: January 22-28
Saw a short clip from this video on Facebook and was so intrigued that I looked up the full video. It is a workshop/experiment in which Professor Jane Elliot teaches about the negativity of racism by showing white college students what it feels like for minorities to be discriminated against. I thought it was very interesting and eye opening and feel like everyone should watch it.
Racism - Jane Elliot's fire with fire
Week 5: January 29- February 4
Read Triangle: the Fire that Changed America; the book discusses America during the fourth wave of immigration to the US and illustrates how life was in America for various racial groups immigrating to America, detailing their hardships. I found it interesting to compare how certain racial groups were treated then and compare it to how they are treated now.
(Triangle: the Fire that Changed America by David Von Drehle)
Week 6: February 5-11
Watched the movie Black or White, a movie detailing a custody fight between a young biracial girl's black paternal grandmother (Rowena) and white maternal grandfather (Elliot) after the death of the young girl's maternal grandmother, who had previously been raising her with Elliot (Eloise's mother having passed away during children). The movie explored the idea of race being a factor in the Elliot's wishes to keep custody of his granddaughter (Eloise); Rowena's attorney accuses Elliot of being racist and uses that to try to sway the judge to grant custody of Eloise to Rowena. I enjoyed the story's exploration of racial tension and prejudices that exist today (Elliot's view of Eloise's father as a "street n*", Eloise's struggles with her conflicting racial identities). I think it was an effective way to explore racial issues today.
Week 7: February 12-18
Read this article on racism and how it exists today:
Is Racism a Form of Mental Illness?
Week 8: February 19-25
Had a discussion with a friend of mine that did theatre in high school about shows that we have both done. Through our discussion we found out that we had done some the same shows, and even played the same role (twice!). Timidly, she told me that she was surprised that I had also played the roles we had in common (these roles traditionally were played by a Caucasian actress). We then talked about how our high school directors casted plays; I was fortunate to have a quite racially diverse group of "theatre kids" in my schools, and, for the most part, directors who cast roles primarily on talent and/or vocal ability, and who were quite fans of color-blind or traditional casting. She told me that her director, however, was quite the opposite. I reflected upon that, realizing that my high school theatre experience might have been quite different (role-wise) had I had different directors than I did. Having the roles that I did in high school really helped me grow and gain experience as an actor, and without them I might not have the confidence or willingness to learn as I do now. This is something that I still think about and struggle with to this day.
Week 9: February 26- March 4
Building upon last week, I recently was cast in a role that, in my experience, is traditionally played by a Caucasian actress (Veronica's Mom in Heathers: the Musical); the actress playing Veronica in this production is Caucasian. This has happened to me a handful of times, yet it still surprises me a little each time (although, ideally, it really shouldn't). Experiences like these give me hope for prospective roles and also makes me hopeful that more and more people in the theatre community can move past "traditional" casting and be more inclusive of different ethnicities.
Week 10: March 6-10
Spring Break
Week 11: March 13-17:
An acquaintance of mine asked me about my hairstyle a few days ago, as she realized that I had gotten it done over the break (she was confused as to how it had grown so much in a short week; amused, I had to explain to her that it was not all mine). I answered her questions about the process of getting it done, as well as some about my natural hair and how I care for it. She then asked me, timidly, if she could feel or touch it, and laughingly, I told her she could and that I didn't mind. I know some African-American women take offense when others touch their hair or seem fascinated by it or whatever, but most people that have ever asked me about mine have been quite respectful and seemed innocently curious. I think that discussions like this are important in understanding other's cultures.
Week 12: March 20-24
An article I read this week about a movie called Get Out that came out a few weeks ago. I have not yet seen the movie, but I plan to. It seems to explore racial issues of today, and I am eager to see it.
‘Get Out’ Marketing Tapped Into Relationship Between Racism and Horror
Week 13: March 27-31
Another article I read this week about immigration:
Houston immigrant doctors given 24 hours to leave the U.S., then a reprieve
Week 14: April 3-7
Spoke on the phone with my high school best friend, Jacqueline, about something that happened to her recently. Jacqueline (or Jackie, as I usually call her) is Korean. She told me about how, as she and her roommate Maddy were walking to lunch after church this past Sunday, some young man on the side of the road called out to them, saying "Hey, wanna hang out with us?" She and Maddy simply didn't respond and kept walking. Then, the young man and the other boys with him started catcalling at them, essentially, and before they got out of earshot, one called out something along the lines of, (please excuse his crude language) "Hey, Chinese girl! In the green dress! I want to f*** you! You're so hot!" While telling me the story, Jackie's annoyance was more focused on the boy's latter comment, but I couldn't help but notice that he assumed that she was Chinese, when in fact, she's Korean. Personally, I'm very cautious about assuming anyone's ethnicity, usually using a broader term (Asian, Latino/Latina) to describe someone until I'm sure of it or ask them, and it surprised me that someone near in age to me still was so insensitive and dismissive about it.